Field
The present invention is in the technical field of antimicrobial treatment of fabrics and textile materials. More particularly, the present invention provides a system providing metallic ion generation and dilution, in desired concentrations, for batch storage and entrainment in a flow for use in antimicrobial treatment of fabrics and a method for controlled introduction of the antimicrobial agent into the textile.
Related Art
Shortcomings of existing antimicrobial treatments can lead to stain and odor causing bacteria build-up, mold and mildew as well as the spread of infection through direct contact, airborne disease and waterborne disease. These diseases can be acquired by their victims from contacting contaminated surfaces, breathing air containing pathogens, or drinking pathogen containing water. Contamination of fabrics or textiles in uniforms, surgical scrubs, sheets, blankets, napkins, table cloths and similar materials by microbial pathogens can contribute to spread of disease.
Prior art antimicrobial treatments do not provide effective lasting antimicrobial benefit after the treatment has been administered. Existing antimicrobial treatments can also lead to immunization of evolved pathogens to the respective treatment. Such immunization of evolved pathogens can result in infections which cannot be treated with the conventional treatments that caused the pathogens to become immune.
Enterprises which specifically have problems with microbial issues ranging from bacterial odor through the spread of infectious diseases include, but are not limited to: the cruise line industry, hotel and gaming, professional sports teams, health and fitness clubs, nursing homes, households and hospitals. Healthcare facilities currently have a growing problem with immunized pathogens being virtually untreatable with conventional methods. With such hospital infections, the harmful microbes are often carried in the linens and clothing provided by the hospital. Once hospital textiles have been laundered, they are susceptible to recontamination by microbes and pathogens. Pathogens carried by these textiles can infect hospital patients, health care workers and even cause death. Since almost every patient spends the majority of his or her time in bed, in a gown, between the sheets, this linen environment is the core of the overall hospital environment for the patient, and a primary site in the battle against infection. In other environments such as households or Cruise Ship industries, textiles are ubiquitous, including napkins, tablecloths, aprons, uniforms, towels, and robes.
In the healthcare field antimicrobial fabrics have been employed in which an antimicrobial ingredient is imparted into the threads or fibers during fiber or textile manufacturing. The fibers are embedded, dipped, soaked, or coated with antimicrobial agent during the manufacturing process. However, efficacy declines over time as the antimicrobial agent in the fabric is washed away and never restored.
These methods are not satisfactory for the market. In addition to the efficacy/performance issues listed above and because the textiles are manufactured to already include the beneficial antimicrobial agent such as silver, these products require linen providers to make a large upfront capital investment to purchase new, impregnated linen inventory. Inventory replacement can cost millions of dollars for large industrial laundering businesses. Additionally, the linen's antimicrobial efficacy steadily degrades over time. After each use and wash, the antimicrobial feature is diminished, causing effectiveness to decrease over time. Further, the products are aesthetically unpleasing and uncomfortable to the touch. Linen providers have reported that silver-embedded fabrics can often exhibit an off-white discoloration and are difficult to press.
It is therefore desirable to provide an antimicrobial treatment system which may be employed directly in water supply systems to provide efficacious antimicrobial action in order to transform ordinary textile materials/products into lasting active antimicrobial entities.